No Data On Your Device

Since Chromebooks are designed to be used mostly online, you’re not lugging around a device full of applications and files. This means you’re not likely to lose all your coveted photos if someone steals your laptop. It also means no-one at border security will be able to arrest you for pirating software or entertainment (if you’re the sort of person who has that stuff on your computer).

Most importantly, the Chromebook setup means no-one can get access to your data – neither thieves nor border security. Border security could ask you to log in, but if you’re really concerned about this, you could reset the device or remove your account yourself before going through border security. A thief would have to break into your Google account in order to get anything sensitive out of having your laptop in their possession. Meanwhile, you could reset your password and would soon be able to replace your Chromebook, with everything just as it was.

Offline Access

Chromebooks have built-in media players, so you can load up a USB full of music or video for watching while you’re in transit. With seamless access to your Google Drive account, you could also potentially add files you will want to Google Drive, then download them when you can during your trip. Check out Google’s full list of supported media files for Chrome OS.

Thank you for this. I was considering a Chromebook for a while and have been doing a lot of research but your article is what sold me. I know this really isn't for everybody. I wouldn't want to bring my $1000+ laptop with me when traveling when all I want to do with it is maybe a little research or catch up on emails and social media. Not saying that 200 bucks isn't a lot of money but comparable to $1000 from $200 is a little more settling.

Surely the "best" travel device is a tablet? Small, light, decent battery, online/offline apps, decent storage space for a few movies/ tons of songs/ audio book/ pod casts etc (6 movies, 20x 8hour audio books on my Nexus 7 *2012* with 18Gb free space on top of the other stuff I have on there) I just don't understand the need for a chromebook apart from a handy cheap machine for students in reach of good wi-fi.
Shame, because I think they have the capacity to be great... just not in their current format.

Tablets are pretty good too. Not as good for typing unless you bring a keyboard, though. Also, security-wise you're logged in to numerous accounts directly and often only protected by a local password, pin or gesture. With the Google login, you can change your password elsewhere if you need to.

"you’re not lugging around a device full of applications and files"
Angela, dear, apps and files are only magnetic bits, they do not weigh anything so you are not "lugging" anything extra around. It's not as if you were "lugging around" their hard copy equivalents.

If you cannot get a connection, Chromebook is just a paperweight. Oh, right. You can listen to music and play games that you have pre-loaded. With a laptop, even if you can't get a connection, you can do real work because you have direct access to your apps and data. And with a laptop, you are not limited to only Google applications.

Ah, by "lugging around" I was referring to the physical device, not the data. In airports, etc, the word "lugging" comes to mind whenever I think of all the things I'm carrying. :)

Anyway, my point being that on that device you're taking with you and sleeping on in Airport waiting rooms to stop people from stealing it, you could either have it filled with your data (which I find risky) or you could have it basically empty.

I do agree with you on the weight, Angela. However, the Ultrabooks are as light as Chromebooks but give you the capability of a laptop.

If you are afraid of being "relieved" of your computer, then you should leave it at home. You DO carry your smart phone with you anywhere you go? Aren't you afraid that may be filched? Unless you are working for one of the intelligence agencies or have your entire life's history stored on the device, its theft will only mean the bother of physically replacing it.

Yeah, I worry about my phone being stolen too. But mainly for the pain-in-the-arse factor. But that's travel. You expose yourself to thieves and are extra-vulnerable because you're usually carrying a little more than you normally would.

I did buy a Chromebook before leaving on an extended winter getaway, but I found I could not access my bank accounts. I guess I need to learn more about remote access and working offline. BTW for those that have 4G on their Chromebooks (which model would that be) did this come with the machine when you bought it and if not how did you add it? I ended up taking my Playbook which was not very useful and an i5 Windows 8 ASUS that was partially useful but quite cumbersome. The best thing I brought was probably a $70 Huawei Android phone that took decent pictures and backed them up regularly to Google plus. Travel apps on it were also quite useful and battery lasted two days with steady use.

Yeah, you need internet access to get to your bank accounts. A lot of the newer Chromebooks come with 4G included, but you can easily find a USB 4G device or wireless option. Or look into sharing 3G/4G access with your computer from your phone.

Good writeup, Angela. I also have a Sony Tap 11 (Win 8.1 tablet w/ keyboard) but I travel with my Chromebook C720 only. It does 90%+ what I need on the road including playing online games ;) . It's a machine that if stolen or damaged I don't feel bad at all; like you said, important stuff is in the cloud.

I thought I know Windows and I too marveled what's packed into a Chrome book -- what offline apps can do, not so documented features like screen capture, keyboard short cuts, unbelievable battery life etc . Chromebooks are intended to eat into big M's OS sales and recent quarterly results are showing this. Never underestimate the "do no evil" company; and no I don't work for them. Cheers.

What's with all the naysayers? Try using one for reasonable period of time, then comment on them, Angela A is spot on with her review. My Chromebook is one of the best and most versatile devices I have bought, I must admit I was a little sceptical at first but having taken the plunge, I find that I use it rather than use my laptop, which is now almost redundant except for sorting and transferring files on my media server. This has been a fantastic purchase and yes it's a brilliant device to have when travelling, I either tether to my phone or use free wi-fi which is readily available almost everywhere these days.

@ Jasray. For someone so against "Petty Western gadgets" and who "has never needed anything even remotely electronic", how the devil did you manage to get your comment online?? Maybe your Zen sent it telepathically!!

I have an I7 Windows 8.1 PC with 12 GIG of ram. I bought a used Samsung Chromebook on Ebay as a toy. But I love the Chromebook. I use it more than my Windows PC. The only thing I dislike about the Chromebook is the Google Cloud print.

Paleolith, I have been able to configure the google Cloud print on my Windows machine, who is attached to the printer and share that printer with all members of my family who need to prints from the different chromebook that we have. Is that the setting you have attempted to use?

The google cloud print is still beta and I too faced some issues, and still facing some. I hope you will find a solution to your problem.

Have you tried the Remote Desktop application from google that allow you to take possession of your Windows machine from your chromebook and this even if your PC is not in the same network as your chromebook? This is how I access my windows machine now, I have even removed the screen from my PC!! Brilliant technology.

Every time I read an article about the chromebook I can't wait to spot in the comment section which comment will say that "you should buy a windows RT instead" or "Useless thing without a Wifi".

Some people don't understand the chromebook basically because they think their needs are what should be everyone else's need. This is not the case and that's why they don't understand what kind of users the chromebook is targetting.

Some people try to compare the chromebook with a Macbook. Or compare the chromebook with Windows. The macbook and the Windows machines are more capable OS, you can definitively do more with those machines. But not everyone want to do more. Why buy a car when you can buy a mini-van? With a mini-van you can do much more, you can have more people in it, you can bring large box with it... So, why buying a car?

Same thing with OSes. My parents really don't need a machine that requires regular maintenance and a regular verification that an anti-virus is properly running and has the latest version of the virus signature. Nor to update adobe because of a security issue. They just want to read their facebook page and their email, and to check the weather, and to check some news... all available on the web.

The chromebook is an internet machine. You can't surf the web in a plane. OK. But you can continue to write your novel, your article, your report, your long document for the job, your email to your friend. You can do that on a PC too, but even on the chromebook. I think you can also play angry bird without an internet connection...

Oh by the way the reason why I was attracted to this article is that it highlight something that just happened in my house. My wife, who I don' t consider geek at all, is frequently travelling and she just start asking me to bring my chromebook instead of her iPad.

She can put her camera SD card in it to transfer photos to google+ photo... can't do that with the iPad.

She find it more efficient to write long email and reports on the chromebook. She can do that on the iPad too.

I am not saying the chromebook is better than the iPad. Just that for my wife, she now prefer the chromebook to the iPad when she travel.

Angela, it is not that the iPad cannot upload to g+ easily, it is that the photos that we have been taken with a camera and are stored in the sd card of the camera. You can't take the SD card from the camera to the iPad, but you can to the chromebook.

The Google+ iPad/iPhone application support uploading the photos stored on those device. Actually, I highly recommand the Auto backup feature of the google+ application to make sure that each single photos are uploaded to our google+ account automagically, to make sure to never lost any photos.

Really the best travel device isn't a computer or smartphone or camera or any of those petty Western gadgets that foreign locals will see as a HUGE sign across the backpack or duffelbag, "Hey, I'm rich and could really care less about your culture." I rarely even wear a watch on what I consider traveling. And I've never needed anything even remotely electronic.

If we are referring to travel within the States, then maybe I would need a phone. I guess businessmen would need that 24/7 connection (or think they need it). The sad thing I see in airports and in the air is that no one really knows how to carry on a face-to-face conversation anymore. Empty minds filled with fun games. Maybe that's Zen in disguise. Certainly, a change from only five years ago.

I can only presume those that scoff at chrome books haven't tried one.
Admittedly it's not for the super user - but if you're not one - what a magic machine.
No maintenance - no Microsoft bloat - no virus worries - no backup worries- just does it's job!
It's not for everyone - just most people.

We have 2 Acer 710's in the house. And they work awesome. I look at it this way if they are SOOO bad why are all these Microsoft people trying to convince theirs is sooo much better? No complaints, no viruses, Google drive rocks (phone,pc and Chromebook share it) and all for 199.00 yeah send me a Chromebook anyday.

Bill M:
"why are all these Microsoft people trying to convince theirs is sooo much better?"
Because Microsoft wants everybody to buy THEIR device and not use the competition's. Why does Pepsi try to convince people that their soda is "sooo much better?"

The Pepsi thing would hold up if in their ads they stated that Coke sucked and tastes bad. Pepsi can try and tell you their product is better than their competition but I would frown on Pepsi as well if they directly attacked Coke or whomever. It's just bad taste, forgive the pun.

I have an actual CR-48, one of the lucky ones. When I'm tired of dealing with linux distros I re-flash it back to Chrome OS. It works for me at home and away at work. I have a server at home that I use for most things: videos, pictures, music, downloads. I can also VPN if need be. It boot faster than my tablet and runs web apps better than anything else.

I have a chromebook and I love it. This article is spot-on. With 3G built in I can get online just about anywhere that I want. Not sure what all the negativity is about but as a user it works great for me. As a military guy I travel quite a bit and it goes everywhere with me. Not to mention if I need a file or program on my home computer I can remote in and use it from anywhere.

Battery life is great for the RT, but I found it to be irritating in many ways. For instance, not being able to use a browser other than IE and being unable to use extensions like Lastpass in their ideal way (it's there, but not ideal).